Ground support for device for storing and dispensing balls and the like



Oct. 3, 1967 P. W. INGHAM GROUND SUPPORT FOR DEVICE FOR STORING AND DISPENSING BALLS AND THE LIKE Filed March 4, 1966 FIG 3 INVENTOR. PAUL w. INGHAM A TTORNE Y United States Patent 3,344,955 GROUND SUPPORT FOR DEVICE FOR STORING AND DISPENSING BALLS AND THE LIKE Paul W. Ingharn, 900 Maple Lane, Elk Grove Viilage, 111. 60007 Filed Mar. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 531,975 3 Claims. (Cl. 221-282) This invention relates to improvements in a device for storing and dispensing balls and the like and more particularly relates to a self-supporting device for storing and singly dispensing golf balls and the like and guiding them onto a playing surface.

Golf is a sport which continues to increase in popularity with more people playing the game and more players attempting to improve their game. As a result, many accessory devices have been developed to aid the golfer in practice and to make both practice and playing golf more relaxing and enjoyable. In my previously issued US; Patent No. 2,962,321 entitled, Device For Retrieving and Storing and Dispensing Golf Balls, there is disclosed a device that has features which make it very useful to a golfer either indoors or outdoors during his practice sessions. The device of my prior patent allows the golfer to pick up his golf balls without bending or stooping, store them, and to dispense them singly as needed. Obviously, when used indoors, the device is primarily used in connection with putting practice, but is useful also outdoors on driving ranges, practice greens and the golf course itself. However, when used, the device usually must be laid down on its side and picked up between each practice stroke. Also, until the present invention, a device of this type had little, if any, utility in connection with commercial golf driving ranges.

It is, therefore, a principal object of the invention to provide an improved device which is useful in storing and dispensing balls such as golf balls and the like.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved golfing accessory for dispensing and storing golf balls, which accessory is self-supporting.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved self-supporting golfing accessory for singly discharging a golf ball at the desired time and guiding the ball to a desired spot. In this regard, the device is useful in golf driving ranges.

It is yet another object of my invention to provide an improved golfing accessory which is very simple, foolproof, and inexpensive to manufacture and market and which therefore has appeal to almost any golfer, amateur or professional.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a removable storage device mounted on the supporting stand, a portion thereof being broken away to show certain details of the upper section;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view with a portion of the lower section broken away; and

FIG. 3 is a plan View of the device of the invention but with the storage device removed.

The tubular storage and dispensing device, which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, is removably mounted on the supporting stand 11 in the manner described hereinafter. The device forms the subject of my prior Patent No. 2,962,321 and is fully disclosed therein. However, to assist in the understanding of the present invention, a brief description of this device follows.

3,344,955 Patented Oct. 3, 1967 The dispensing and storage device 10 includes a hollow tubular retainer 12 of a uniform inside diameter which is large enough to accommodate the balls, such as golf balls, to be stored. At the lower end of the retainer 12 a reinforcing element 13 has a projecting member 14 which extends outwardly, the projecting member 14 being formed by two substantially parallel spaced apart sides and is somewhat U-shaped in cross section. A stop member 16 is pivotally movable between the sides of the projecting member 14, the stop member 16 being mounted on a pivot pin 18 which extends transversely through the sides of the projecting member 14. The inner end of stop member 16 projects into the interior of the tubular member 12, and the lower surface 20 of the inner end of stop member 16 is inclined as shown. The outer end of stop member 16 has connected thereto a resilient member such as spring 22 the other end of which is aflixed to the projecting member 14. Spring 22 thus biases the stop member 16 to a stop position with the upper edge of the outer portion resting against the lower edge 24 of a cut out portion in the projecting member 14, as best seen in FIG. 2.

When the user wishes to pick up a ball for storage, the lower end of the tubular retainer 12 is placed over the ball and pushed downwardly. The ball will contact the lower inclined surface 20 of the stop member 16 and cause it to pivot out of the stop position and thereby allow the ball to enter the inside of the tubular member. When the ball has been forced completely inside the retainer 12, the spring 22 will return the stop member 16 to the stop position and prevent the ball from falling out. When the user wishes to release a ball, the outer end of the stop member 16 is manually depressed pivoting the stop member 16 clockwise (FIG. 1) which moves the inner end of the stop member 16 out of the path of the ball thereby permitting it to drop out of the end of the tubular retainer 12. If the stop member 16 is quickly released, the spring 22 will return it to a stop position and only one ball will be released.

The device thus described is thus very useful for retrieving golf balls, storing them and releasing them one at a time. The device, however, is incapable of independent support. Therefore, to provide this support and also to guide a released ball to a specific desired spot, such as a practice tee, for example, I have designed the stand 11 upon which the device 10 can be easily mounted and removed when desired. Stand 11 is comprised of an upper portion 28 and a lower portion 30, the latter having a circular-shaped base 32 from which a conical shaped portion 34 extends upwardly. The base 32 should be sufficiently large to make the device stable under normal conditions with the device 10 in place. The lower portion 30 is preferably hollow and has formed in its walls three bosses 36 each of which has a vertically extending openin-g therethrough to provide for connection with the upper portion 28 as described hereinafter.

The upper portion 28 is somewhat cylindrical in shape the lower end of which corresponds to the upper end of the lower portion 30. The upper portion 28 is also substantially hollow and has formed in its walls bosses 38 which correspond to the bosses 36 formed in the lower portion 30. Bosses 38 each have a vertically extending opening therein which align with the openings in bosses 36 when the upper portion 28 is properly positioned on the lower portion 30. Pins 40 are inserted through the openings in the lower portion 30 into the openings in the upper portion 28, and thus prevent relative lateral movement between the two portions. Other suitable connecting means may also be used. For example, the two portions may be connected by the use of suitable screws (not shown). Where pins 40 such as those shown in the drawings are used, they preferably have pointed lower ends which permit the upper portion 28 to be used without the lower portion 30 when the device is used outdoors on a surface into which the pins can be inserted.

At the top of the upper portion 28 the sidewall is cut out as shown at 42, the opening 42 extending through the top edge except for the lug 44 which extends laterally across a portion of the opening. The upper end of upper portion 28 is hollow and open at the top, and spaced downwardly from the top and inside is an inwardly extending annular flange 46. The chamber thus formed in the top of the upper portion 28 is of sufficient size to receive the lower end of the storage and dispensing device 10. Device is mounted on the stand 11 by inserting its lower end into the chamber formed in the open upper end of the stand 11. When the lower edge of the device 10 engages the flange 46, the top edge of the projecting member 14 will be just below the retaining lug 44, and if the device 10 is then rotated slightly, the projecting member 14 will be locked in beneath the lug 44. Thus, the device 10 and stand 11 can be lifted and moved about as a unit. When the user wishes to remove the device 10, he must rotate the device 10 slightly until the projecting member 14 is disenaged from beneath the lug 44. The device 10 can then be easily separated from the stand 11 and used to retrieve balls.

With the device 10 in place on the stand 11, balls stored in the device 10 can be singly released by depressing and quickly releasing the stop member 16 as previously described. Stop member 16, of course, will extend to the outside of the stand 11 when the device is properly placed on the stand. When a ball is released from the device 10 when in place on the stand 11, it will fall by gravity downwardly inside of the upper portion 28 of the stand 11. In order to direct the ball to the desired spot exteriorly of the stand 11, I have provided the following structure.

About midway in the upper portion 28 of stand 11, there is a partition 48 which is inclined from front to rear. The partition 48 has a V-shaped cutout 50, as best seen in FIG. 3, which serves to direct a ball toward the opening 52 formed in the front wall of the upper portion 28. Opening 52 is large enough to permit a ball to pass through, and an adjustable ramp 54 is pivotally mounted at one end in the walls adjacent opening 52. Ramp 54 is preferably formed from a single length of thin rod or heavy wire to a V-shaped configuration with the free ends bent laterally to provide for pivotal attachment to the walls of upper portion 28 The ramp S4 is pivotally attached at the same elevation as the front edge of the inclined partition 48 so that a ball released from the device 10 will strike the partition 48 and roll freely down the ramp 54 to a selected spot, such as a tee, for example. The ramp 54 can be swung to discharge a ball at any desired elevation below the level of the partition 48. Ramp 54 can be easily removed by squeezing its sides together to disengage its ends from the walls of upper portion 28 and, if desired, a ramp of different length attached.

Operation and use of the invention should be clear to those skilled in the art from the above description. The combination of the device 10 and stand 11 is obviously a very useful one, and the stand 11 can be used in connection with storage and dispensing devices other than that illustrated herein. It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that other modifications and revisions can be made to the illustrated embodiment of my invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is my intention, however, that any such revisions and modifications will be included within the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. For use in connection with a portable ball storage device having storage means with a ball discharge opening at its lower end and means to control the discharge of balls from said opening, a portable supporting stand for said device, said stand comprising a base portion providing for stable support of said device, an upper portion connected to said base portion and having means at its upper end adapted for releasably connecting the lower end of said device to said supporting stand, ramp means combined with said upper portion for guiding a ball released from said device to a place selected by the user, said upper portion being separable from said base portion, and pin means interconnecting said base portion and said upper portion, said pin means being insertable into the ground upon which the stand rests to provide for support of said upper portion when separated from said base portion.

2. For use in connection with a portable ball storage device having storage means with a ball discharge opening at its lower end and means to control the discharge of balls from said opening, a portable supporting stand for said device comprising a lower portion having a broad base providing for stable support of said device and a somewhat conical-shaped portion extending upwardly from the center of said base, a somewhat cylindricalshaped hollow upper portion removably affixed to the top of said conical portion, said upper portion having a part of its wall cut out along the top edge thereof and a retaining lug extending over a part of said cut-out part to provide for releasably connecting the lower end of said ball storage device to said supporting stand, said upper portion also having a ball discharge opening in its sidewall at a level below said cut-out portion, a partition in said upper portion extending across the interior of said upper portion at the level of said ball discharge opening to direct a descending ball through said opening, and a ramp pivotally connected at one end to said upper portion near the lower part of said ball discharge opening to guide a ball from said opening to a place selected by the user.

3. The portable supporting stand of claim 2 in which said ramp is comprised of a U-shaped member with spaced-apart resilient legs, the free ends of said legs extending transversely outward to provide pivots for said ramp, the resiliency of said legs tending to spread the legs apart thereby maintaining said ramp in a selected position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 23 6,607 l/ 1881 Smith. 1,958,956 5/1934 Preston 221-282 2,962,321 11/1960 Fowler et al. 294-19 FOREIGN PATENTS 378,238 8/1932 Great Britain SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH A PORTABLE BALL STORAGE DEVICE HAVING STORAGE MEANS WITH A BALL DISCHARGE OPENING AT ITS LOWER END AND MEANS TO CONTROL THE DISCHARGE OF BALLS FROM SAID OPENING, A PORTABLE SUPPORTING STAND FOR SAID DEVICE, SAID STAND COMPRISING A BASE PORTION PROVIDING FOR STABLE SUPPORT OF SAID DEVICE, AN UPPER PORTION CONNECTED TO SAID BASE PORTION AND HAVING MEANS AT ITS UPPER END ADAPATED FOR RELEASABLY CONNECTING THE LOWER END OF SAID DEVICE TO SAID SUPPORTING STAND, RAMP MEANS COMBINED WITH SAID UPPER PORTION FOR GUIDING A BALL RELEASED FROM SAID DEVICE TO A PLACE SELECTED BY THE USER, SAID UPPER PORTION BEING SEPARABLE FROM SAID BASE PORTION, AND PIN MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAID BASE PORTION AND SAID UPPER PORTION, SAID PIN MEANS BEING INSERTABLE INTO THE GROUND UPON WHICH THE STAND RESTS TO PROVIDE FOR SUPPORT OF SAID UPPER PORTION WHEN SEPARATED FROM SAID BASE PORTION. 